Railway draft rigging



W. A. GEIGER RAILWAY DRAFT RIGGING March 1, 1932.

Filed Feb. 13, 1928 ffl Patented Mar. 1, 1932 Y UNITED STATES PATENT o1-#Fics f` WILLIAM A. GEIG-ER, 0F CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOR TO W. H..MINER, C., OF

CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, A. CORPORATION OF DELAWARE RAILWAY DRAFT RIGGING Application filed February 13, `19128. Serial* No. 254,011.

' This invention relates to improvements in railway draft riggings. l l

In the art of railway draft riggings, it has longbeen known that the service demanded ofy draft gears is constantly increasing, due to 'the increase in size of individual cars, increased length of trains, and the more powerful locomotives. and draft travel of gears amountingon the average to 2%, it has been found eX- tremely diicult to properly absorb these heavier loads, particularly in buff.` Y There is now arising' a definite demand for draft gears having a longer stroke in order that the heavier bufling blow, particularly, may beyinore effectively cushioned and this must befaccom plished without increase in train slack, which is extremely undesirable. jf

One object of my invention is to provide a railway draft rigging lwherein provision is made for a long buifmg stroke of the draft gear, while at the same time retaining the comparatively short and desirable draft stroke, to the end that the heavier bufling' blows may be properly absorbed without increase in train slack. f

A more speciiic object of my invention is to provide a combined friction shock absorbing device and yoke member such that proper alinement of the coupler and draft gear is maintained at all times and all danger of the coupler drooping or sagging or being tilted upwardly during coupling of cars, is eliminated.

Still more specifically, an object of my invention is to provide an integrally 'formed yoke and friction shell member soarranged that the yoke portion thereof will support the coupler in proper horizontal position in any operative condition of the draft rigsns- Other objects of the invention will more clearly appear from the description and claims hereinafter following.

In the drawings forming apart of this specification, Fig. 1 is a part vertical sectional view, part elevational view of a portion of a railway car showing my improvements lin connection therewith. And Fig.. 2

is a horizontal, longitudinal, sectional View lVith the standard buff` corresponding to the section liney 2-52 of Fig. 1. i

In said drawings, 10.-10 denote ytheusual channel draft sills of a car underframe, said sills constituting` continuations of thecenter sills in the particular embodiment illustratedll At their outer ends, said sills are united to the usual end sill 11, and the opening at the end of the sills is reinforced by an end buffer casting 12 whichmay be of anyysuitable or desired construction. The usual bolster is indicated at 13, the same havingacenf ter filler casting 14 which, in the instance shown, is provided with forwardly extended side arms 15-,15 riveted to the sills and having flanges 16-16A at their front ends which provide the rear stops of thevdraft rigging. As clearly shown in Fig. 2, the filler castingv 14 is suitably recessed so 'as to accommodate tlie'rearward movements of theyoke member, hereinafter described. i

In carrying out my invention, I' employ a combined yoke and friction shell member designated generally by the reference character A, and associate therewith suitable friction elements and spring resistance, one form of which will be described. A modern standard coupler is indicated at B, the same being operatively connected to the member A by the usual couplerkey C, which is eX-v tended through alined slots in the coupler and member A and also through elongated slots 17 17. Said slots 17 are formed in reinforcing plates or castings 18 rivetedto the sills A, as clearly shown in F ig. 2. As shown in the same figure, the coupler key C is so positioned, normally, inthe slots 17, that it may have a much greater buff movement than draft movement.

-The front stop and follower means of the gear proper is' obtained through a second key D which passes transversely through ino able form, the one illustrated comprising al pressure-transmitting wedge 21, wedge friction shoes 22 and 23, a preliminary spring 211, main spring follower 25, twin arranged main springs 26-26, and another spring follower 27, thela-tter bea-ring against the key D. `The gear proper is maintained of desired over-all length by a` bolt 28 having shouldered engagement with the spring fol- A and, ,at its front end, is provided Vwith an upstanding flange 34 which abuts the usual horn of the coupler. The bottom wall 31 is alsosubstantially horizontal throughout its entire length and extends forwardly to apoint in line with the coupler horn. At therear end of the member A, as best'shown in Fig. 1, the top and bottom walls and 31 are 'madev of reduced width, as indicated at 35-35, and are connected by a vertical section 36 so as to provide ashort loop section at fthe rear end' of the member A within Whiohis received the follower 29. Y

f The side walls 32, forwardly of the partition 33, extend parallel as indicated at 133 z and then flare outwardly as indicated at 233,

to allow for the usual lateral motion of the coupler when rounding curves. VBearwardly of the partition 33, the side walls 32 diverge as indicated at 333 until the full width r ofthej spring cage and friction shell'proper is reachedand then said side walls extend parallel, as indicated at 433, to the open end of the shell. .The member A, and contained parts, is heldA in proper positionby a carry-iron 37 and saddle plate 38.

' Referring to Fig. 1, it will be seen that the top and bottom walls of the member A are provided with vertically disposed, narrow, transversely extending flanges 13S-138 which provide shoulders fo-r the follower 27 and at the same time leave a recess or opening vfor-4a forwardly extending thick rib 39 on the follower 27 which rib has a rounded recess 40 fitting'the rear edge of the key D. s In abuff action, it is evident that the butt end of the coupler B bears against the partition33 and hence will produce simultaneous and corresponding movement of the memberA. As the friction shellportion thereof moves rearwardly, the desired friction action is set up, 4inasmuch as the wedge 21 is held against rearward movement by the follower'y 29 which, inturn abuts the stops 1G.L This buff movement will preferably approximate 5 to 6"', it being noted that ample provision for this movement is provided by the elongated key slots 17 and 19. The buff movement will preferably be limited by the keys C and D simultaneously engaging the rear ends of the slot-s 17 and 19 and by the member AV engaging the follower 2.9. Should there be an excessive buil shock that is not fully absorbed by the gear, the over-load will be taken by the flange 34 engaging the buffer casting, as will be understood. In a draft action, the key D remains stationary and the member A will be pulled forwardly by the coupler. B through the key C. It will also be observed that the yoke section 35-36 of the member A will move forwardly simultaneously and consequently there will be no friction action sincethere will be no relative movement pro duced between the shell prop er and the friction shoes. However, the forward movement of the member A and associated friction elements will compress the springs 26, the forward ends of which are held stationary by the follower27 which bears on the key D. The draftaction will preferably be confined to about 21/2 to 3 and will be determined by the length of the slots v2O in the member A, the rear edges of said slots engaging the key D at the limit of the draft movement.

From the preceding description, it will be seen that l have provided a draft gear of simple and economical form having capacity for absorbing exceedingly heavy shocks in buff and having the necessary easier cushioning action in draft without any increase in train slack.

Although lqhave herein'shown and described wh at l now consider the preferred manner ofcarrying out my invention, the same is merely illustrative and l contemplate all changes and modifications that come within the scope of the claims appended hereto.

l claim:

1. ln a railway draft rigging, the combination with draft sills; of a combined yoke and friction shell member movable relatively to said sills; friction elements cooperable with said shell member; spring means cooperablc with said friction elements; means causing relative movement between said friction elements and shell when the latter is moved in one direction lengthwise with respect to the sills; and means for moving saidV friction elements in unison with said shell-when the latter is moved inthe opposite direction length 7ise ofthe sills.

2. ln a draft rigging, the combination with l Dxdraft sills; of a combined yoke and friction shell member; front stop acting means relative to which said member is movable in draft; rear vstop acting means; friction elements cooperable with said shell and said rear y top acting means; and spring meansk internocd between said friction elementsand front stop acting means whereby in buff, a

spring friction action is obtained, and, inY

draft, a spring action only.

3. As an article of manufacture, a singlepiece yoke and shell member having top, bottom and side walls, said member being open' at opposite ends, one of said open ends being adapted to receive a coupler shank, said member having a. fixed intermediate partition forming an abutment for the inner end ofthe coupler shank, and an integrally formed loop at the other end of said member overhanging the opening at said end.

4:. In a draft rigging for cars, the combination with draft sills fixed to the car; of front and rear stop-acting means fixed tothe sills; a combined friction shell and spring cage and associated spring means and friction elements; a follower cooperable with said spring means and movable relatively to said 'shell and spring cage in one direction, said follower cooperating with certain of said stopacting means to hold the follower againstmovement with respect to the car, in an opposite direction; means for moving said shell y and cage and elements associated therewith as a unit toward said follower when so held; and additional follower-means movable 1n unison with the shell in said last-named di? rection for compressing the spring means against the first-named follower, whereby a spring resistance only is obtained during said movement, said shell being movable relatively to the friction elements and additional follower in an opposite direction.

5. In a draft rigging, the combination with.'

draft sills having rear stop-acting means; of combined yoke and friction shell member movable in unison with a coupler in both buff and draft; spring means and friction elements associated with the shell, said spring means opposing movement of the elements inwardly of the shell; a follower interposed between said friction elements and rear stopacting means and held against movement by said stop-acting means during a buff action; a second follower held against movement in draft, on which follower said spring means bears; and means movable in unison withl the shell in draft action for compressing the spring means against said last-named follower.

In witness that I claim the foregoing I have hereunto subscribed my name this 7th day of February, 1928.

WILLIAM A. Guiana. 

